


Decisions

by javajunkie



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, missing moment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:21:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25037650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/javajunkie/pseuds/javajunkie
Summary: What happens before Daniel decides he is right where he needs to be.  And then what happens after.Missing scenes from "Adapt or Die".  Daisy/Sousa
Relationships: Daisy Johnson x Daniel Sousa
Comments: 10
Kudos: 172





	1. Chapter 1

It was a long journey back to the Zephyr, his leg now delivering a disgruntled crunch that he felt more than heard with each step. Long distances without a cane were difficult enough without the added weight of his partner. Daisy had gone limp some time ago, but she was still breathing. Even so, he reassured himself every few minutes by slipping his fingers around to her neck, fortified by the slow but steady thump beneath his fingers. A few days prior, he wouldn’t have been able to even imagine the Zephyr, but now it was a most welcome sight. He staggered forward, Deke running out and offering to help carry Daisy into the aircraft.

“No, I’ve got her,” Daniel said through gritted teeth, his breath coming out in sharp huffs. Deke nodded, following him onto the ship where they were met by Simmons. Daniel noticed the stricken look on her face, but then she quickly reverted to clinical, spouting off something about a hyperbaric chamber, but the pain in his leg had started to overcome his senses, and he didn’t realize she was speaking to him until she repeated, “Agent Sousa, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Agent Johnson needs the medical care, not me.”

Simmons eyed him warily as he grimaced with the next step. “Why don’t you let Deke take her?”

Daniel went to protest, but then his knee buckled, Daisy nearly falling to the ground if it hadn’t been for Deke and an opportunely placed wall. Daniel pushed back against the wall, trying to find purchase on the maddeningly smooth surface as Deke took Daisy from him. Without a word, Simmons wound her arm around him and Daniel leaned against her, slowly making his way back to the medical ward. When they got there, Deke was already placing Daisy into the hyperbaric chamber.

“What the hell did they do to her?” Deke said, taking in the numerous bloody bandages that dotted her body.

“We need to change those bandages and clean her wounds,” Simmons said after helping Daniel into a chair. “Deke, grab the antiseptic.”

Daniel wanted to help, but he could tell that his leg wouldn’t support him for any sort of standing right now. He watched helplessly from the chair, only looking away for propriety when they changed her into a fresh pair of clothes.

“I really think you should let me take a look at your leg,” Simmons said over her shoulder.

Daniel nodded stiffly, and then added, “Take care of Agent Johnson first.”

Simmons made quick work of closing the hyperbaric chamber and checking Daisy’s vitals. She didn’t speak, but he could tell from the pinched expression on her face that she didn’t like what she saw on the screen.

“How is she?” Daniel asked.

“Her blood count is very low,” Simmons said, eyes scanning over the screen. “I’ll start a transfusion.”

“What happened out there?” Deke asked.

“Malick saw her use her powers at the SHIELD hideout and he wanted them for himself,” Daniel said. “So, the bastard took her blood and spinal fluid.”

“She’s weak right now, but she should be okay. She’s lucky you were there.”

Daniel chose not to respond, thinking that if she hadn’t snuck a shard of glass in her palm, things could have gone very differently. When Malick brought down the building, a good portion of it had fallen where they had been handcuffed.

“Agent Sousa, can I take a look at your leg now?” Simmons asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Yes, go ahead.”

She gently pulled up his pant leg, Daniel wincing as the material rubbed against the sensitive skin just above his prosthesis. The skin was rubbed raw and bleeding in places from where the prosthesis bit into the stump. 

“I should clean this,” Simmons said.

Daniel nodded. “Thank you.”

“Deke, while I’m treating Agent Sousa’s leg can you check on the next jump?” Simmons asked. 

Her grandson nodded, heading out toward the hub of the ship while Simmons made quick work of cleaning Daniel’s leg. As she re-attached the prosthetic, she casually proposed a more advanced model, but he held off, figuring that what he had got him all the way to the 1970s, so it couldn’t be that bad. Besides, his leg didn’t feel all that important when someone was lying in some space-age healing chamber next to him, her body covered with bandages. At least they were clean now.

Simmons noticed his gaze and said, “She really will be okay. The hyperbaric chamber does wonders for healing.”

Daniel believed her, but he wouldn’t be totally convinced until Daisy was awake again, the memory of her fading in his arms still too recent.

Simmons busied herself with adjusting the settings on the chamber and then Deke came into the ward, looking between Simmons and Daniel as he said, “We’re about to jump.”

Simmons glanced over at Daniel. “Last chance, if you…“

The implication was clear, but so was his answer.

“I’m where I need to be,” Daniel said resolutely, his gaze on the chamber.

Simmons smiled softly to herself and nodded, following Deke out of the ward to prepare for the jump.


	2. Chapter 2

The Zephyr had a myriad of features that served the team well during their missions. Precise and innovative weapons. State-of-the-art cloaking. Simmons even installed wirework to allow the ship to go underwater. In Daisy’s opinion, though, the most useful feature was the kitchen’s cappuccino machine. Caffeination was important, particularly when there was a long day of tracking Chromicons ahead. 

Daisy pressed the machine’s buttons on autopilot, afterwards bracing her hands on the counter and closing her eyes as the machine whirred to life. She felt pretty much back to normal after the hyperbaric chamber, but there was an emptiness that she couldn’t shake. She knew now how Jiaying must have felt after Whitehall experimented on her. How it left a mark that no amount of blood transfusions or hyperbaric chambers could erase.

“Agent Johnson, hi.”

There was only one person on the Zephyr who called her that, and she smiled slightly before looking over at Daniel and saying, “You know, you can call me Daisy. We _did_ almost die together.”

“Yeah, I guess we did. Well, I’m glad to see you’re feeling better -” he paused and added, “- _Daisy_.”

“There you go. That wasn’t too bad, was it?”

“No, not bad at all.”

“And, thank you,” Daisy added. “I was definitely in good hands.”

“Agent Simmons is pretty remarkable,” Daniel said. “Is there anything she can’t do?”

“Probably not. But, I didn’t just mean her. I haven’t had a chance to thank you for before. I wouldn’t have made it out of that barn if it wasn’t for you.”

“It was a team effort,” he said in return. “I couldn’t have gotten us out if you didn’t sneak out that shard of glass in your palm.”

“Dude, take the compliment,” she said with a goading smile. 

Daniel laughed and said, “Okay, okay, well, you’re very welcome.”

He still looked uncomfortable with the compliment, so she didn’t mention how he had kept her company during the hyperbaric chamber. Not that she had any actual memory of it. She had still been unconscious, but Simmons told her, slipping it in as an aside when she told her that Daniel stayed with them for the time jump.

The cappuccino machine beeped and Daisy removed her mug, the rich scent of freshly brewed espresso meeting her nose. 

“Any chance that makes regular coffee?” Daniel asked. 

Daisy smirked. “Regular coffee?”

He gestured toward her cup and said, “I still can’t get used to that fancy stuff.”

“Well, lucky for you, Daniel, this machine does it all.” She opened up the cabinet and pulled out the K-cups. She began to ask if he wanted something flavored, but after the look on his face when she proposed hazelnut, she said, “Okay, donut shoppe blend it is.”

“Sounds good to me.”

As the coffee brewed, she turned to face him and casually leaned back against the counter. "So, you decided to stay for the jump.”

Daniel nodded. “Yeah, I decided to stay for the jump.”

“You must like us,” Daisy said, missing his reaction as she turned around and grabbed his mug of coffee. As she handed it over, he said, “I’m also supposed to be dead.”

“That is a very fair point.”

“But, I’m happy to be here,” Daniel said.

Their eyes met, and Daisy felt a strange, but familiar, pull at the base of her stomach. Oddly, she found herself at a loss of words and covered it by clinking her mug against his. The noise broke the moment, but her eyes still followed his mouth as he took a sip of coffee. He nodded appreciatively and said, “Not bad.”

He took another sip, his tongue darting out to catch a bit of coffee at the edge of his mouth after, and Daisy quickly said, “Alright, I should see if May needs me.”

As she walked away, she heard him say, “Okay. I’ll see you later, Daisy.”

When she took a sip of her cappuccino, it burned her mouth, but she didn’t notice.


End file.
